Commuted Sentences
by TitansRule
Summary: After Amber Stanton becomes the latest person to mistake the two detectives for a couple, Jess confides in Lindsay about her growing feelings for her partner. Story #30 in my 'Kindred Spirits' series.


**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY.  
****Series: 'Kindred Spirits' – see my profile for the chronological order.  
****Spoilers: **_**Commuted Sentences**_** – everything in bold was taken directly from the episode.**

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Commuted Sentences

By the time Jess had finished reading the email Danny had sent over detailing where Joanna Morgan had been shot and how they'd figured it out, her head was spinning and she closed it down with a groan.

How could someone accidentally kill someone, get shot in the process and _not_ seek medical attention?

The only answer she could come up with was that their perp – or possibly intended victim – was an ex-felon, who didn't think he'd be believed … but the blood from the second through-and-through hadn't made any hits in CODIS.

Normally, a case like this would prompt a discussion with her partner, but – as a glance over told her – Don Flack seemed to have disappeared.

Now, it seemed, all her work to find out who might have wanted Joanna Morgan dead had been for nothing and she faced several hours of trying to work out who Joanna Morgan might have wanted dead instead.

"Detective Angell?"

Jess glanced up to see a young uniform standing nervously by her desk. "Yes?"

"This just came for you." He handed her an envelope.

"Thanks." Jess gave him a smile; he blushed bright red and scampered away. She grabbed the letter opener she kept in her desk draw and slit it open, pulling out a certificate, officially telling her that she had passed her tactical training with flying colours, causing her grin proudly.

None of her brothers had gone into law enforcement – although Jamie was an attorney – a fact which her father had lamented over until she announced her decision to join the Police Academy.

Her mother had been shocked and begged her to consider a safer option, then, when that idea was blown off, settled into the same supportive worry she had held throughout her husband's service.

Cliff Angell, however, had been a different story. He had embarked upon a tale of how disappointed he'd been when one of 'his boys' hadn't followed in his footsteps – and yet had never mentioned that he was proud that she was doing just that. Then he had started on the difficulties she would encounter and how many men in the force felt that women didn't belong there – and yet never said he disagreed with them.

While working as a uniform at Jersey PD, Jess had begun to worry about her career choice; her graduation from the Academy had come with honours, but the duty captain seemed to be giving her the most low-key jobs, leaving her feeling that maybe she wasn't cut out for the work after all. It wasn't until one of her colleagues commented on how unfair it was that she went to see the captain – a jolly man by the name of Browning.

Browning had, apparently, been one of her father's protégés – and there were a lot of them about.

She could still remember how he'd met her eyes and sighed, before saying, "Angell, you're a damn good cop, as your father was before you. But it's more than my job's worth to go against his wishes."

Jess had been furious, but held off confronting her father; she liked the captain and didn't want to get him into any trouble.

Several days later, Browning had called her into his office and told her that Gerard had an opening for a third-grade homicide detective. With a wink, he'd added that her father had never worked with _him_.

When she'd arrived at NYPD, she'd finally gotten confirmation that this was what she was supposed to be doing; like Don, she bled blue and she belonged right where she was.

_Speak of the devil. _Jess watched Don enter the precinct and make a beeline for her, crouching down next to her and slinging an arm over the back of her chair. "Whatcha got?"

"In the case or in my hand?" Jess asked, trying not to notice the tingling in her right arm as his fingers just brushed her skin.

"Both." Don shrugged.

"Well, the case just turned from a murder to an attempted murder ending in an accidental shooting, except we can't find the guy even though the bullet went through him." Jess explained, watching him pull a face. "And this … see for yourself."

Don took the paper from her and read it, his face breaking into a grin. "Atta girl, Jess; I knew you'd do it."

"Thank you." Jess tilted her head slightly to regard him curiously. "That's not the only reason you came over, is it?"

"You know me too well." Don's arm moved so it was around her shoulders rather than draped over the back of her chair. "Jessie, I need a favour. And, since you're my partner and I'm one of your very best friends, I thought you might be willing to help me out?"

"That depends." Jess narrowed her eyes. "First, never call me that again. Second, what kind of favour?"

"Amber Stanton." Don stated. "Last person to see our vic alive, no alibi to say she didn't kill him, wouldn't provide DNA and was way too smug for my liking. Mac wants me to tail her."

"I see." Jess stated. "And you want my help?"

"Your company." Don corrected. "C'mon it looks like you're at a dead end on your case; maybe things will make more sense if you take a few away from the desk."

"Oh, alright." Jess sighed, grabbing her jacket. "But you owe me one."

"Oh, are we gonna start counting now?" Don asked, following her out of the precinct.

* * *

"You see her?" Don asked quietly.

Jess scanned the street. "No … wait; she's coming out of that salon."

They had been trailing Amber Stanton for several hours now and had just spent a worrying ten minutes having lost her completely.

Don breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I wouldn't wanna tell Mac we lost her." He glanced over at her. "So one of the uniforms says you took down your perp last week; said a tackle like that belonged on the football field. You used to play?"

"Nah, I've got four older brothers." Jess shrugged. "You catch on."

"Four older brothers?" Don repeated. "I know you said it was a family of boys, but **four older brothers and a Detective Sergeant for a father? Did they dust you for prints when you got home from a date?**"

Jess smiled, her eyes fixed on their target in the wing-mirror. "**If it was up to them, I wouldn't have known boys existed until I was 21.**"

"**I bet the boys knew you existed.**" Don muttered.

Now Jess looked around, but he wasn't looking at her. For a second, she wondered what she should do. Had he meant her to hear that or not? If she called him on it and he hadn't meant her to hear it, things could get very awkward between them. Then again, if she said nothing and he _had_ meant for her to hear him, the same thing could happen.

So she fell back on an old standby. And teased him about it. "**Was that a line, Flack? Did you just bust out your game on me?**"

Don didn't answer, avoiding her gaze, but his face turned redder than she'd ever seen it.

"**It was, wasn't it? Look at you; you're blushing!**"

"**Game.**" Don scoffed. "**I have no game! If I did, that's probably as good as it gets!**"

"**I think it's pretty good.**" Jess responded. When he turned to look at her, she flushed slightly, realising what she'd said, but she was interrupted before she could continue.

"**Detectives!**" Amber Stanton ducked down beside the car to look in her open window. "**Oh! I'm not interrupting anything, am I?**" With a smile that told them that she was very aware that she clearly _was_ interrupting something, she straightened up, opened the door and slid into the back of the car. "**You two have been trailing me for the last couple of hours. Now if you're going to follow me, you may as well have a copy of my itinerary; we have lunch at Steynes in … oh, fifteen minutes.**" She leaned forward conspiringly. "**That could be a bit expensive on your boyfriend's salary.**"

Jess gaped at her, her eyes meeting Don's momentarily before she averted her gaze forwards again, hardly paying attention to Amber listing her itinerary for the afternoon, wondering what had made her think they were a couple. True to Don's estimations, with Danny and Lindsay's relationship becoming public knowledge, the two of them had become the main topic of discussion at the water cooler, but their colleagues saw them all day and she knew how easily friendship could be mistaken for something else. But Amber was purely going by this moment in time.

_Calm down, Jessica, _the logical side of her brain stated calmly. _It could just be because you're not two guys. Or she's trying to rattle you. And clearly it's working._

She was brought out of her thoughts by the door slamming shut again and looked over at Don, who was staring after Amber, apparently in shock. He shook his head slowly, refocusing on her. "**That woman pisses me off.**"

With that, Don got out the car and she twisted round in her seat as he climbed in the back, pulling out his torch.

"**What are you looking for?**" Jess asked as he began running the light over the back of the seat.

"**Something to help me put her in handcuffs next time I see her.**" Don muttered. Then, with a triumphant smirk, he pulled a hair from the seat and held it up for her to see.

"**Not bad for a guy on a city salary.**" Jess complimented.

Don's blush reappeared, but nowhere near as brightly as before. "**Thank you.**"

"Twice in one day?" Jess asked. "Wow, Don, you don't normally blush this much."

"I'm not blushing." Don insisted, once he was back in the driver's seat. "There should be an evidence bag in the glove compartment."

"Ummm…" Jess rummaged around and pulled one out. "Here. Are we taking that to the lab?"

"We will." Don smirked. "But we've gotta follow her a bit longer or she'll know something's up."

"Alright, but we've got nothing on her at the moment." Jess reminded him. "NYPD's not gonna pay out for us to have lunch at that place; it's expensive. Something tells me that's why she goes there."

"Well, then why don't you let me treat you to lunch, Detective?" Don suggested.

Jess hesitated, her mind spinning with a hundred reasons not to accept. But, then again, it was just work. "Sure. Why not?"

* * *

"Jess? Angell? Hello?"

Jess shook her head, her thoughts abruptly dissolving. "Sorry, Lindsay; I was miles away."

"Yeah, I noticed." Lindsay frowned at her. "You okay, Jess?"

Jess sighed. "Not really, no. Can we talk?"

"Well, I'm a little confused as to what we've been doing so far." Lindsay smiled at her, causing her to laugh slightly.

There was a football game on that evening, which meant that the boys had met up at Sullivan's to watch it on the big-screen there. Any other sport and Jess would have joined them, but she'd never been much of a football fan and Lindsay had invited her to spend the evening with her, so the two women had ordered Chinese and opened a bottle of wine, celebrating a case successfully closed.

"How did you decide whether to risk a relationship with a colleague?" Jess asked quietly.

Lindsay hesitated, lowering her glass. "I guess … Danny had always made it very clear he was interested in me and … I dunno, it just happened. Is this about Flack?"

"Maybe." Jess muttered, but she could feel her face heat up slightly. "He's one of my best friends _and _my partner, but I've been falling for him since … quite possibly since I met him. I didn't realise until the Truby thing …"

"Is that why he knows your first name?" Lindsay asked knowingly. "I mean, I'd say Danny was one of your best friends, but he doesn't know."

Jess snorted. "If Danny knew, it'd be all over the precinct within an hour. I just … what do I do, Lindsay? What if he doesn't feel the same way?"

"If you want my honest opinion, I'd sit tight until you know for sure." Lindsay advised. "As far as I know, he's still seeing whatsherface – you know, blonde hair, blue eyes, typical Flack-gal?"

"I'm sorry; 'Flack-gal'?" Jess repeated.

"Yeah." Lindsay smiled apologetically at her. "Don's a great guy, fiercely loyal, and he's 100% faithful to whatever girlfriend he has at the time, but he goes through them like Danny can go through cannolis. And they're all a certain type: blonde hair, blue eyes and an IQ the size of a walnut." She paused, realisation crossing her face. "He was flirting with you today, wasn't he?"

Jess nodded. "Yeah. I mean, he's flirted with me before and I haven't thought anything of it, but today … I dunno, it was almost like he hadn't meant to; like it just slipped out."

"Don's like Danny, Jess." Lindsay told her gently. "They'll both flirt with anything with breasts. It doesn't mean anything."

"He was blushing, Linds." Jess whispered. "I've never seen Don blush before."

Lindsay raised an eyebrow. "Neither have I actually. But if I were you, I'd wait for him to make the first move or you're going to risk losing a hell of a lot. I don't mean anything against either of you, Jess; you're just not his type. Which is unfortunate, really," she added thoughtfully, "because I think you'd make a really great couple. You'd be good for him."

Jess laughed shakily. "How do things get this messed up?"

"Love's never easy." Lindsay stated wisely. "That's why it's so special."

"I suppose so." Jess sighed.

Lindsay watched her for a few seconds. "You know, Jess, what you and Don have is special in its own right. You seem to be able to read him better than anyone. And he confides in you more than anyone else; he doesn't let a lot of people in."

"And I'm happy with that." Jess insisted. "It's just … sometimes I can't help wondering what could be."

"You're only human, Jess." Lindsay reminded her gently. "No one can."

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AN: As always, please review, even if you're not logged in or don't belong to the site; these stories are getting boatloads of hits and I know some of you are reading and not reviewing, but I really do want to hear from you ... read from you ... you know what I mean.**


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